Duvall: Perfect summer for Peoria High football coach Tim Thornton

Tuesday

Jul 8, 2014 at 8:01 PM

A summer full of football is the perfect kind of summer for Tim Thornton.The Peoria High coach spent four days in Canton, Ohio, on staff at the 15U U.S. National Football Team Development Games. After serving as an offensive line coach last year, Thornton took the reigns as the offensive coordinator for the Blue team.“I had a great time doing it,” he said. “I got to work with some great kids.“I guess I did an OK job because this year I came back and was offensive coordinator”His offensive was more than adequate. In the three-game jamboree, his no-huddle attack averaged more than 24 points a game. Blue then won its full-contact game, 35-34.Thornton says his Blue squad was the only one to use a no-huddle offense and he even incorporated the same language he uses for the Lions. He was able to stress the basics of the offense, while implementing it in a very short time.“You realize you can go out there and run an offense with a limited number of plays and as long as you have your fundamentals right, you can still be successful doing that,” the fourth-year Peoria High coach said.On the Fourth of July, football players and coaches from all across the country dined and toured the Pro Football Hall of Fame. All games took place at Fawcett Stadium, home to the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.Most of these players are underclassmen, but Thornton says he saw flashes of potential Division I talent.“There’s some ballplayers that you would definitely project going somewhere. We’ll just have to wait and see how that works out for them.”Richwoods grad Ben Hammer got Thornton involved in the U.S. National Football Team Development Games. Hammer, who was an assistant under Thornton at Woodruff, is an assistant coach at Pinehurst (N.C.).This year, Hammer is a staff assistant for 19U team, which is currently in Kuwait. An opportunity that, Thornton says, was possible for him as well, but didn’t work out this year.“I couldn’t give up 21 days away from the Peoria High team to go out there and pursue that,” he said.Thornton arrived back in time for Monday’s workouts with Peoria High. He’s more than ready for the first official day of high school football practice on Aug. 11.“(This experience) kind of reminds you to focus on the fundamentals when you come back,” he said.Fast Eiker: Josh Eiker got a first-hand look at some of the nation’s fastest sprinters in Eugene, Ore.The Galesburg junior-to-be ran in the 200 prelims at this past weekend’s United States Track Federation Junior Outdoor Championships. He failed to qualify after finishing sixth (:21.54) in the first of two heats.“I feel pretty good knowing the competition would be the best I’ve faced before,” Eiker told GateHouse NewsService. “I’m not really disappointed at all. I just think the opportunity to run out here at Hayward Field was amazing. My goal was to just come out and represent Galesburg the best I could and run the race I know I could run. I’m not disappointed in how I did.Eiker qualified for the meet at the University Oregon when set the Class 2A state meet record in :21.28. That time was better than the 200 qualifying time (:21.44) for the USTF Junior Outdoor Championships.The 200 field featured all incoming freshmen, meaning Eiker, who took second in the 2A 200, will be the nation’s lone high school runner next season.“It feels pretty great just being able to run and be in the same atmosphere — a glimpse of what college is like,” he said. “It was a great feeling being able to compete with some of the top athletes and talk with them.”ADAM DUVALL is a Journal Star sports reporter. He can be reached at 686-3207 or aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.